Chapter VII: Part I (4)

Further, the telegraph operator who remained after Iakovleff’s departure received a telegram that read as follows: “Take the detachment with you and depart. I have resigned and am not responsible for the consequences.” A part of Iakovleff’s detachment was still remaining in Tobolsk; and that is why Iakovleff sent the telegram. The telegraph operator, a very young man, and the soldiers of the detachment departed. I don’t know where they were going. Avdeieff left Tobolsk before Iakovleff, as he was sent by Iakovleff in order to prepare a train for the imperial family.

Some time elapsed when our detachment committee received a telegram from Moscow (I don’t know from whom it came.) It announced that Iakovleff was replaced by Hohriakoff. About the appearance of Hohriakoff in Tobolsk I will tell the following: There were no real Bolsheviki in the Tobolsk soviet. The leaders were mostly social revolutionists. So it was even at the time when almost everywhere the soviets consisted of communists. There was a time when even Nikolsky was temporary chairman of the soviet. Later, Dimitrieff, an extraordinary “Commissar,” came from Omsk to Tobolsk. His intention was to organise the Bolshevik power. A special detachment of soldiers arrived with him from Omsk. At the same time Yekaterinburg claimed that Tobolsk was in their jurisdiction, so another detachment arrived from Tumen. But Dimitrieff, as representative of Siberian opinion, had the upper hand and the Tumen detachment left. Having organised the Bolshevik power, Dimitrieff returned to Omsk. During this period of organisation of the soviet rule in Tobolsk Hohriakoff was the first chairman of the soviet. In those days various Bolshevik detachments arrived from different places at Tobolsk. A detachment of Letts was also formed there. Long before the imperial family had all left Tobolsk, the Letts were already there, and created considerable disorder, as for example, when they searched Baroness Buxhoevden. I do not know who was their commander, but he apparently did not please Hohriakoff, and was relieved by Rodionoff who came from Yekaterinburg. A short time after Hohriakoff took his appointment, replacing Iakovleff as commissar, he received a telegram from someone in Moscow that instructed him to remove all the remaining members of the family to Yekaterinburg. I must not forget to mention that Hohriakoff after being appointed commissar, ordered Rodionoff to come from Yekaterinburg to Tobolsk. When asking for Rodionoff from Yekaterinburg, Hohriakoff had in mind that he would be in charge of the imperial family, but not of the Tobolsk district. Hohriakoff did not act as the chairman of the district soviet, but in the capacity of an extraordinary commissar having supervision of the imperial family. Some time after he was appointed commissar, however, before our detachment was relieved by Letts, I went to the house. Our soldiers were on sentry duty. They did not allow me to enter, saying that that was Hohriakoff’s orders. I applied to Hohriakoff. “They did not understand me,” he answered. For several days after this incident took place I continued to visit the house. But shortly after Rodionoff arrived our guards were relieved by the Letts, who occupied all the sentry posts simultaneously and I was not allowed to enter the house. It was just a few days before the family left. How things went after this I can tell you, as I heard from people who remained in Tobolsk. I remember also that Rodionoff on his arrival, came to the house, assembled the members of the family, and made a regular roll call. This surprised me very much. Shortly afterwards, unexpectedly for me, the Letts assumed the sentry duties and I was not allowed to enter the house. I was told that the Letts behaved in the following fashion. Once divine service took place in the house. The Letts searched the priest. They searched the nuns in a very indecent manner and touched everything in the sanctuary. Rodionoff placed a Lett by the sanctuary in order to supervise the priest. It created such an unhappy effect that the Grand Duchess Olga wept, and said that if she had known beforehand that conditions were to have been like this she would never have made a request for divine service.

After I was not allowed to enter the house any more, my nerves gave way, I became ill and had to remain in bed. The family left Tobolsk on the 7th of May. I was unable to leave my bed and could not bid them “Farewell.” The following persons went to Yekaterinburg: (1) Tatischeff; (2) Derevenko; (3) Hendrikova; (4) Buxhoevden; (5) Schneider; (6) Gilliard; (7) Gibbes; (8) Tegleva; (9) Ersberg; (10) Toutelberg; (11) Mejantz; (12) Katia; (13) Masha; (14) Volkoff; (15) Nagorny; (16) Ivanoff; (17) Tutin; (18) Youravsky; (19) Troupp; (20) Haritonoff; (21) Kokicheff; (22) Leonid Sedneff.

Soon after we were transferred to Tobolsk from Czarskoe-Selo two maids, Anna Utkina and Anna Pavlovna Romanova, joined us. The soldiers did not allow them to enter the house. They remained at Tobolsk and did not go to Yekaterinburg. I do not know where Hohriekoff came from. He was not educated and his capacities were not of a very high order. Previously he had been a stoker on a battle ship, the _Alexander II_. He usually wore a black leather suit.

Neither do I know the origin of Rodionoff. He was about twenty-eight or thirty years of age, below medium height, not educated and produced an unpleasant impression. He seemed to be a cruel and cunning man. Baroness Buxhoevden assured us that she had seen him during her travels abroad. She met him on one occasion at a frontier station in the uniform of a Russian gendarme. I should say we still felt the gendarme in him, though he was not a good type of gendarme soldier, but that of a cruel man with the manners of a secret service agent. After his arrival Rodionoff searched Nagorny when the latter returned to the house from the train. He found a letter from Dr. Derevenko’s son to the czarevitch and reported it to Hohriakoff, saying: “That is a nice sort of man; he said that he had nothing, and I found this letter.” Then addressing me he added: “I am sure that during your time numbers of things were smuggled in.” Hohriakoff was very pleased, saying: “I have been watching this rascal quite a time, he is a disgrace to us.” That is what the sailor Hohriakoff was saying about the sailor, Nagorny. It could not be otherwise. One was “The beauty and the pride of the Russian Revolution.”[1] The other was a man devoted to the imperial family, who loved the czarevitch, and who was loved by him, and for this reason he perished. Sedneff surely also perished for being “a disgrace,” as he was also a sailor and also devoted to the imperial family.

After the departure of the imperial family I was cut off for a long time from all news and nobody could tell me anything about them. In June Omsk was taken from the Reds. The Omsk Bolsheviki escaped from Omsk on steamers and came to Tobolsk. Our Tobolsk Bolsheviki also ran away with them. Power in Tobolsk was taken into the hands of officers. Tumen continued to remain in the hands of the Bolsheviki. A fighting line separated us. Then I got news about Hohriakoff. He appeared to be in command of something on the river near Pokrovskoe (being a sailor, I suppose). They say that Matveieff was also in command. Tegleva told me afterwards that Hohriakoff was not permitted to go into the Ipatieff house, even though he was sure to be a commissar while there. After Tumen was taken, most of the people who left Tobolsk with the imperial family returned, except the following: (1) Dolgoruky; (2) Tatischeff; (3) Derevenko; (4) Hendrikova; (5) Botkin; (6) Schneider; (7) Tegleva; (8) Ersberg; (9) Toutelberg; (10) Volkoff; (11) Nagorny; (12) Tchemodouroff; (13) Sedneff; (14) Troupp; (15) Haritonoff; (16) Leonid Sedneff; (17) Ivanoff.

They told us the following: During the journey of the imperial family they were treated in a disgraceful manner. While they were on a steamer Rodionoff forbade them to lock their cabin doors from the inside, but Nagorny and the czarevitch were locked in by him from the outside. Nagorny got very angry and quarrelled with Rodionoff, telling him that it was inhuman to a sick child. (Even here in Tobolsk Rodionoff displayed the same attitude, and would not allow the Grand Duchess Olga to lock the door of her bedroom or even to shut it.)

When the train arrived at Yekaterinburg the czarevitch, the Grand Duchesses Olga, Maria, Tatiana and Anastasia were transferred to the house. The emperor and empress were transferred also, with all the persons who accompanied them, except Dolgoruky, who was taken to prison. When the children came to Yekaterinburg the following persons were immediately arrested: Tatischeff, Hendrikova, Schneider and Volkoff. Lately I heard from Gilliard that Sedneff and Nagorny were also removed from the house. Gilliard and Gibbes witnessed that. Derevenko remained in Yekaterinburg. Tegleva, Ersberg and Ivanoff stayed in Tumen; Toutelburg at Kamyshloff. The following persons remained in the Ipatieff house with the imperial family: Tchemodouroff, Sedneff (a boy), Troupp, Haritonoff, Demidova and Botkin.

Some time after Yekaterinburg was taken Tchemodouroff came to Tobolsk. I saw him and talked with him. He came to Tobolsk absolutely destitute, a very aged man, suffering mentally and broken down. He died recently. His conversation was incoherent. He could only answer questions, but his answers were sometimes contradictory. I will tell you here the outstanding points of his conversation that I can recall: After the arrival at Ipatieff’s house the emperor, empress and the Grand Duchess Maria were searched in a very rough manner. The emperor lost his temper and protested. He was rudely informed that he was merely a prisoner and that he therefore had no right to protest. Tchemodouroff noticed that Avdeieff was the senior. The meals were very bad. The dinner was brought from a cheap lunch room, and they always brought it late, at three or four o’clock instead of one. They dined together with the servants. The pan was put on the table. There was a lack of spoons, knives and forks. The Red soldiers sometimes participated in the dinner. Sometimes a soldier came in and helped himself to the soup, saying: “Enough for you, I will take some myself.” The grand duchesses slept on the floor as there were no beds for them. Roll calls were frequently made. When the grand duchesses went to the lavatory the Red soldiers followed them, saying it was on purpose to guard them. Even according to Tchemodouroff, who was not able to give the whole account, being so extremely depressed, it was clear that the august family was constantly subjected to intense moral tortures. Tchemodouroff did not believe that the family had been killed. He said that Botkin, Haritonoff, Demidova and Troupp were killed, but the family itself was taken away. He said that by killing the aforementioned people they simulated the murder of the family. He said that for the same reason the house was devastated, also some things were burned and others thrown into the waste basket. I remember he told me that somebody had found pieces of a holy image and an Order of St. Vladimir which was always worn by Botkin.

In a short time after this Volkoff came to Tobolsk. He said that Hendrikova, Schneider and himself were taken from the railway car in Yekaterinburg and sent to prison. From there they were transferred to a prison in Perm. Afterwards they were taken out of the Perm prison, and led out to be shot, but he fled on the way and escaped. The others were executed.

In Tobolsk I heard for the first time about the murder of the imperial family. I saw it in the Omsk newspaper _Zaria_, or may be in a Tobolsk newspaper _Narodnoe-Slovo_. The Bolshevik communication described the “execution” of the Emperor Nicholas “the sanguinary.” In regard to the character and private life of the members of the imperial family, I state the following: The emperor was a very clever man, well informed, and very interesting to talk with; he had a remarkable memory. He was very fond of physical labour and could not keep well without it. He was very modest in his needs. Even in Czarskoe-Selo I saw him wearing old trousers and worn boots. He drank very little. During dinner he drank not more than one glass of port wine or Madeira. He liked the simple Russian dishes, borsch, shchy and kasha. I remember very well one day he came to the wine cellar and seeing some cognac, ordered Rojkoff to give it over to me and said: “You know, I don’t drink it myself.” I never saw him drinking anything except Port or Madeira. He was very religious. He hated, and could not stand Germans. The particular characteristics of his personality were kindness and a mild disposition. He was exceptionally kind. Of his own will as a man he would never cause any pain to anybody. This quality made a very strong impression upon other people. He was kind, modest, straight and frank. He behaved himself in a very modest and natural manner. In Tobolsk he played checkers with the soldiers. I am sure that many soldiers had very kindly feelings towards the imperial family. For example: when the soldiers (good regular soldiers) were leaving Tobolsk they went secretly to the emperor to wish him farewell and kissed him. The emperor’s idea was that the Russian man was a mild, kind-hearted fellow; he did not understand many things, but it was easy to impress and influence him by kindness. The czar himself was of this type. I often pitied him, for the soldiers frequently permitted themselves to act with rowdy manners, generally in the absence of the imperial family. They often made a number of dirty jokes in reference to the imperial family. Perhaps they were afraid to do it in their presence. And that was the reason why the august family did not realise the danger of their position.

The czar loved Russia and more than once I heard him express his fear of being taken abroad. He did not understand art, but liked nature and hunting extremely. It was painful for him to abstain from hunting for any length of time, and he disliked to have to spend his time indoors. A weak character was his fault and therefore he was influenced by his wife. I noticed that even in trifles, when he was consulted on some details, the usual answer was: “As my Wife wishes. I will ask her.”

The empress was very clever, extremely reserved and had a strong character, and her main feature was her love of power. Her looks were majestic. When you spoke to the emperor there were moments when you forgot you were speaking to the czar, but when you spoke to the empress the feeling that she belonged to a royal family did not leave you for a moment. Owing to her character she always took the leading part in all family affairs, and subdued the emperor to her opinion. Certainly she felt more keenly than he did their humiliating position. Everybody noticed how rapidly she was aging. She spoke and wrote Russian very correctly and loved Russia very much. She feared, as the emperor did, to be taken abroad. She had a talent for painting and embroidery. Not only was the German in her unnoticeable, but you might have thought that she was born in a country opposed to Germany. This was explained by her education. After her mother’s death, being still very young, she was educated in England by her grandmother, Queen Victoria. I never heard a single German word from her. She used to speak Russian, English and French. There was no doubt of her illness. Dr. Botkin explained to me the nature of it. Being the daughter of the Grand Duke of Hesse, it was something that she inherited from that family--weakness of the blood vessels. This malady produced paralysis following a bruise, from which the czarevitch was suffering. The men got rid of this illness after arriving at maturity, when this trouble entirely disappeared. With women the illness only started after their climacteric and from this stage hysteria was progressive. It was clear that the empress was suffering from hysteria. Botkin explained to me that this was the origin of her religious ecstasy. All her manual activities and all her thoughts were led by religious motives, and there was a touch of religion in her work. When she was making a present to anybody it always bore the inscription: “God bless you and protect you,” or something similar to that. There is no doubt that she loved her husband, but she loved him not in the way a woman loves a man, but as the father of her children. She loved all her children, but her son she adored.

The Grand Duchess Olga was a nice looking young blonde, about twenty-three; her type was Russian. She was fond of reading, capable and mentally well developed; spoke English well and German badly. She had some talent for art, played the piano, sang, (she learned singing in Petrograd; her voice was soprano), and she painted well. She was very modest and did not care for luxury.

Her clothes were modest and she restrained her sisters from extravagance in dress. She gave altogether the impression of a good, generous-hearted Russian girl. It looked as if she had had some sorrows in her life and still carried traces of it. It seemed to me that she loved her father more than she loved her mother. She also loved her brother, and called him “The Little One” or “The Baby.”

The Grand Duchess Tatiana was about twenty. She was quite different from her sisters. You recognised in her the same features that were in her mother--the same nature and the same character. You felt that she was the daughter of an emperor. She had no liking for art. Maybe it would have been better for her had she been a man. When the emperor and empress left Tobolsk nobody would ever have thought that the Grand Duchess Olga was the senior of the remaining members of the imperial family. If any questions arose it was always Tatiana who was appealed to. She was nearer to her mother than the other children; and it seemed that she loved her mother more than her father.

The Grand Duchess Maria was eighteen; she was tall, strong, and better looking than the other sisters. She painted well and was the most amiable. She always used to speak to the soldiers, questioned them, and knew very well the names of their wives, the number of their children, and the amount of land owned by the soldiers. All the intimate affairs in such cases were always known to her. Like the Grand Duchess Olga, she loved her father more than the rest. On account of her simplicity and affability she was given the pet name by the family of “Mashka.” And by this term she was called by her brother and by her sisters.

The Grand Duchess Anastasia, I believe, was seventeen. She was over-developed for her age; she was stout and short, too stout for her height; her characteristic feature was to see the weak points of other people and to make fun of them. She was a comedian by nature and always made everybody laugh. She preferred her father to her mother and loved Maria Nicholevna more than the other sisters.

All of them, including Tatiana, were nice, modest and innocent girls. There is no doubt they were cleaner in their thoughts than the majority of girls nowadays.

The czarevitch was the idol of the whole family. He was only a child and his characteristic features were not yet worked out. He was a very clever, capable and lively boy. He spoke Russian, French and English, and did not know a word of German.

In general, I could say about the whole imperial family that they all loved each other and were so satisfied with their family life that they did not need nor look for intercourse with other people. Never before in my life have I seen, and probably never again shall I see, such a good, friendly and agreeable family.

Now I can say that the time will come when the Russian people will realise what terrible tortures this very fine family was subjected to, especially when they consider how from the first days of the revolution the newspaper men insinuated a lot of scandalous stories about their intimate family life. Take, for instance, the story about Rasputin. I had many talks about it with Dr. Botkin. The empress was suffering from hysteria. This illness induced a religious ecstasy in her. Besides that, her only and beloved son was ill and there was no one who could help him. A mother’s sorrow, on the basis of religious ecstasy, created Rasputin. Rasputin was a saint to her. Having a great influence over her husband, she converted him to her ideas in this matter. After I had lived with this family and been closely associated with them, I fully understood how unjust were the stories and the insults that were heaped upon them. They ought to have known that the Empress Alexandra, as a woman, had long ago ceased to exist. One can imagine how they all suffered in reading the Russian newspapers in Czarskoe-Selo.

They were even accused of treachery in favour of Germany. I explained to you before the feelings the emperor had towards the Germans. The empress also hated Wilhelm. She often said: “I am always accused of liking and helping the Germans, but nobody knows how I hate Wilhelm for all the evil he has brought to my native country.” She had Germany and not Russia in mind when she said that. Tatischeff told me as an example of her broad vision that once when she was talking about the confusion in Russia, she prophesied that the same thing would happen in Germany. The grand duchesses had the same bitter feeling towards the Emperor Wilhelm. I remember that once the grand duchesses distributed amongst the servants the presents they received from Wilhelm during his visit on their yacht.

I can not remember anything else. Well, yes, I remember the emperor used to keep a diary, though I could not say whether the empress kept one or not. All the grand duchesses used to keep diaries, but before their departure from Tobolsk, Maria and Anastasia destroyed theirs.

I read in a newspaper that while the emperor was in prison in Yekaterinburg somebody came to him and offered to save him, on certain conditions. After the emperor learned that the man was sent by the Emperor Wilhelm, he refused to parley with him. I can not say from whence the Letts came who arrived at Tobolsk. But I draw your attention to the fact that the Lett detachment which took the children from Tobolsk, never returned. Hohriakoff also failed to return.

Miss Hitrovo visited Tobolsk. She was a young girl, and adored the Grand Duchess Olga. Her arrival created a whole story that was picked up and exaggerated by all the newspapers. She was searched but nothing was found.

My testimony has been read to me and it is written correctly.

(_Signed_) EUGENE STEPANOVITCH KOBYLINSKY,

N. SOKOLOFF.

IV

EXAMINATION OF PHILIP PROSKOURIAKOFF

[_The deposition of Philip Proskouriakoff possesses a certain
amount of psychological interest as the testimony of a lad of
seventeen who was suddenly confronted with death in one of its most
violent and terrible forms. Proskouriakoff appears to have been a
clever, restless youth with a distaste for settled employment, and
who probably enlisted in the Workmen’s Guards solely in the spirit
of adventure._

_His story of the murder of the imperial family is more horrible
than the accounts given by the older men. Proskouriakoff’s love of
the morbid, and his slightly decadent mentality, is plainly shown
in his account of the events of the night, when he was awakened
from a drunken sleep and ordered to proceed to that sinister
bullet-riddled room on the ground floor of Ipatieff’s house. But
his minute attention to many of the ghastly and often irrelevant
details is valuable as documentary evidence, as it goes to prove
most conclusively that these things actually happened and were
retained as they happened in the mind of a person whose neurotic
temperament enabled him to remember them accurately and
vividly._--Editor’s Note.]

From the first to the third day of April, 1919, the Investigating Magistrate for Cases of Special Importance of the Omsk Tribunal, N. A. Sokoloff, in conformity with Paragraphs 403-409 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, conducted an investigation in the town of Yekaterinburg, in which the man named below, speaking as the accused, deposed: I am Philip Poliektoff Proskouriakoff. At the time that the crime was committed I was seventeen years old; I am a Russian peasant, belonging to the Orthodox Church, and single. For three years I went to the Sissert five-class school. My specialty is electrical fittings. In answer to your questions, I reply as follows:

For many years my father had been a foreman in the iron works, and resided all the time in the Sissert Iron Works. This was also my birthplace. I did not complete my studies in the Sissert school, and attended classes only during three years. It was very difficult for me to learn; at the same time my father got sick and took me away from school. At first he placed me in the blacksmith’s shop of the factory, so that I might learn the trade. I was instructed by Vasily Afanasievitch Belonosoff. I left after I had worked for about a year in the shop: this work was too hard for me. My eldest brother found me a position in the Palais Royal Theatre where I began to study for a position of electrician. I stayed there for about a year, learned something about electricity and started in a business of my own--installing electric wires in town. Later I got a position in the central electric plant in Yekaterinburg. I worked there for about a month and, before Easter 1918, went home.

I remember quite well that on May 9th I met in the bazaar a friend of mine, Ivan Semenoff Talapoff. He told me that a certain commissar, Mrachkovsky, had started recruiting amongst our factory workmen for a special detachment that was intended to guard the czar. Personally, I did not see Mrachkovsky. I heard only that he was in command of some troops fighting against Dutoff--from whence he had come. I related to my father Talapoff’s words. Both my father and my mother advised me not to enlist. My father’s words were: “Philip, don’t go, think it well over.” I was anxious to see the czar so I ignored my father’s advice and on the next day enlisted. The enlistment took place in the house of Vasily Erkoff, which is on the Tzerkovnaia Street, close to the soviet. The enlistment was conducted by one of our Sissert workmen, Paul Spiridonoff Medvedeff. Medvedeff told me that we should be paid four hundred roubles per month, that we should have to perform sentry duty, but that we should not be allowed to sleep while doing so! Such were the conditions explained to me, so I enlisted at once.

I heard at the time that thirty Sissert workmen altogether had enlisted. Later, some of them withdrew, but the number of those who did so was small and they were replaced by others, also workmen from our factory.

Eleven of these first thirty men, as I was told, belonged to the Bolshevik communist party.

In the second half of May we arrived altogether at Yekaterinburg. At first we were all quartered in the new “Gostiny-Dvor” (bazaar house), where the soldiers of the Red army also were located. We stayed there a few days without doing any work. At the end of May we were transferred to the Ipatieff house, where the czar’s family lived. We were placed in the rooms of the lower floor.

Alexander Moshkin, a workman from the Zlokasoff’s factory, was in charge of the house and our guard detachment was under his orders. Medvedeff was the senior in our party. He was our chief. Nobody had elected him, but he was in charge of the enlistment of our party from the beginning; he paid the wages and changed the sentries. Our salary was four hundred roubles per month; Medvedeff received six hundred. Avdeieff remained all the time in the house and occupied the commandant’s room. Generally he arrived at nine o’clock a.m. and left at nine o’clock p.m. Moshkin stayed all the time in the commandant’s room, where he lived. Medvedeff also always stayed with those two in the same room and spent the night there.

The sentry posts were as follows: (1) By the sentry-box near the gate. (2) By the sentry-box near the chapel. (3) Between two fences, by the window of the house. (4) In the front court, near the entrance to the house. (5) In the back court. (6) In the garden. (7) In the entrance room of the upper floor, by the commandant’s room. (8) Near the lavatory, where the watercloset and bath room were located. Besides that there were three sentry posts with machine guns: (9) Beside the window of the attic. (10) On the terrace that faced the garden. (11) In the middle room of the lower floor.

We were performing our duties for about a week when Avdeieff brought up about fifteen more men--all workmen of the Zlokasoff factory. I suppose he did it because he thought we were overworked, as we were obliged to be on duty four hours at a time; it was raining, and we were not accustomed to this sort of duty.

The Zlokasoff workmen lived with us in the upper floor. There were not any women in our detachment. We had our own male cooks, who prepared our food. At first Ivan Kategoff was the cook, later he was replaced by Andrew Starkoff.

At the end of June or maybe at the beginning of July Moshkin was arrested by Avdeieff, as he was suspected of stealing a small gold cross belonging to the czar. At the same time Avdeieff was also dismissed and replaced by Iourovsky. Nikoulin was appointed as his assistant.

Positively I do not know who Iourovsky and Nikoulin were. Both of them arrived at the house together. They always remained in the commandant’s room. Iourovsky arrived in the morning at eight or nine o’clock and left at five or six in the afternoon. Nikoulin practically lived in the commandant’s room and spent the night there. Medvedeff also continued to spend the night in the same room. About a week after Iourovsky and Nikoulin assumed their duties all the Sissert and Zlokasoff workmen were transferred to Popoff’s (or Oboukoff’s) house, which was opposite the Ipatieff house. Instead of us the lower floor of the Ipatieff’s house accommodated Letts, who were about ten in number.

Before the arrival of the Letts all the sentry duties were performed exclusively by the Sissert workmen. After their arrival all the posts on the upper floor, where the czar’s family lived, were taken up by Letts. We, Russian workmen, were not allowed to go to the upper floor. Such were the orders of Iourovsky.

The machine gun teams, who performed no other duty than at the machine guns, were composed of our Sissert workmen.

At the time when Avdeieff was the chief all the other posts were occupied by the rest of the workmen. But after the arrival of Iourovsky and of the Letts, we workmen began to occupy only the posts outside of the house. All posts inside of the house were assigned to the Letts. Before the arrival of the Letts I, as well as other workmen, performed my sentry duties inside the house about six times, keeping guard by the commandant’s room and the lavatory. I performed this duty in the morning, daytime, evening and night. During this time I saw all the imperial family: The emperor, the empress, czarevitch, as well as the daughters: Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia. I saw them very closely when they went for a walk or to the lavatory or passed from one room to another. They all used to walk in the garden, except the empress. I never saw her walking in the garden. The czarevitch I saw only once, as he was carried by the oldest daughter of the emperor--Olga. The czarevitch was ill all the time.

I can tell about the way they spent their time from the words of Medvedeff, who of course saw them more frequently than I did. They got up about eight or nine o’clock in the morning. They had family prayers. They all assembled in one room and sang prayers. They had dinner at three o’clock. They all dined together in one room; I mean to say that they dined with the servants that were with them. At nine o’clock in the evening they had supper and tea, after that they went to bed. According to the words of Medvedeff they occupied themselves in the following way: The emperor read, the empress also read, or sometimes embroidered or knitted something together with her daughters. The czarevitch, when he could, made little wire chains for his toy ship. They walked every day for about an hour or an hour and a half. They were not allowed to take any other physical exercise. I remember that Pashka Medvedeff once said that the Czar Nicholas Alexandrovitch once asked Iourovsky’s permission to clean the garden. Iourovsky forbade it.

I heard their singing several times. They sang only sacred songs. On Sundays they had divine service, performed by a clergyman and a deacon, who I think were from the Verhne--Vosnesensky church.

At first the food was brought to them from a soviet dining-room; two women brought it; their cook heated it. Later, they were allowed to prepare their meals in the house.

Besides the imperial family on the upper floor of the house there lived with them the following persons, whom I have personally seen. There was a doctor, a stout man, with grey hair, aged about fifty-five. He wore spectacles, that had, as far as I remember, gold rims. There was a waiter, aged thirty-five, tall, slim, and dark. A cook stayed with them. He was aged forty, was short, thin, a little bald, he had black hair and small black moustache. There was also a maid with them, aged about forty, tall, thin, and dark; I did not see the colour of her hair, because she always tied a handkerchief on her head. There was also a boy with them. The boy was about fifteen, his hair was black and he wore it parted, his nose was long, his eyes black.

Two other men stayed with the imperial family. As Medvedeff explained to me, they also were servants. One of them was tall, thin, about thirty-five; his hair was light red, and cut short. He shaved his beard and trimmed his moustache; his nose was of medium size and straight; I don’t remember his other distinguishing marks, but his skin was clear and looked as delicate as a woman’s. The other was also tall, about thirty, his hair was black and parted. He was clean-shaven. The first man wore a black jacket, trousers and shoes. The second man wore a jacket, a stiff shirt, with a tie, trousers and shoes. I also saw the first man carry away a rubber pillow with the urine of the czarevitch. These two men I saw only once, when I was on guard in the house during the first days. After that I did not see them. Medvedeff told me that both of them were taken to Number Two Prison, but what reason there was for imprisoning them I was not told and I was not interested either in knowing. On several occasions I have seen the Bolshevik Beloborodoff, who came to the house probably to inspect the life of the imperial family. Anyhow I was told by Medvedeff that such was the reason of his visits. Beloborodoff I recall very distinctly. He looked about twenty-five. He was of medium height, thin, his face was pale. Beloborodoff visited the house while Avdeieff was on duty there, as well as when Iourovsky was on duty.

Regarding the restrictions and treatment of the emperor and his family by the executives and the guards, as a matter of conscience I can say this: Avdeieff was a simple workman, very poorly developed, mentally. Sometimes he was intoxicated. But neither he nor the guards during his time offended or did any wrong to the imperial family. Iourovsky and Nikoulin behaved themselves differently. During their time the imperial family suffered more. They both used to drink in the commandant’s room and while intoxicated they sang. Nikoulin played the piano (that was in the commandant’s room). Sometimes as Nikoulin was playing and Iourovsky’s eyes were bleared with drink they both started yelling out songs, as: “Let us forget the old world; Let us shake its dust from our feet. We do not need a golden idol. We abhor the czar’s palace.” And so on. Or sometimes they sang: “You died as the victim of a struggle....” Moshkin also sometimes allowed himself to sing these songs but only in the absence of Avdeieff, who did not know anything about it; but the first two took things easy. In the time of Avdeieff women never entered the house, but Nikoulin had a mistress who came to see him and stayed with him after Iourovsky’s departure. She was about twenty, was short, stout and blonde; her eyes were brown, her nose was small and straight. I do not know her name. I don’t know either where she lived or from whence she came. Medvedeff told nothing about her. In the time of Iourovsky divine service was performed less often.

As a result the guards under the command of Iourovsky began to behave much worse. Fayka Safonoff began to behave indecently. There was only one lavatory for the imperial family. On the walls near this lavatory Fayka Safonoff began to write all sorts of bad words, that were very much out of place. He was seen writing those words on the wall near the lavatory by Alexeeff, who was on duty on the upper floor together with Fayka (Fayka occupied the post near the lavatory and Alexeeff near the commandant’s room). After Alexeeff returned from duty he told us all about it. Once Fayka climbed up a fence which was quite close to the windows of the emperor’s rooms and began to sing all sorts of vulgar songs.

Andrew Strekotin drew on the walls of the lower room numbers of indecent pictures. Belomoin participated in the drawing and he laughed and taught Strekotin how to draw better. I have personally seen Strekotin drawing those things.

Once I was walking near the house when I saw the youngest daughter of the emperor, Anastasia, look out the window. When the sentry on duty noticed it he fired his rifle at her. The bullet missed her and lodged above her in the wood-work of the window frame.

All of these unbecoming deeds were known to Iourovsky. Medvedeff reported to him about Podkorytoff but Iourovsky only answered: “They must not look out of the window.”

As I said before, from the time that the Letts entered and joined the guards, they lived in the lower floor of the Ipatieff house, and we, workmen, were all transferred to the house opposite, belonging to Popoff (or Obouhoff). In this house we occupied all the rooms of the upper floor; the lower floor was taken up by tenants.

The Zlokasoff workmen were placed in the same rooms with us.

The last time I saw the imperial family, except the emperor, was a few days before they were murdered. On that day they all went for a walk in the garden--all of them walked--except the empress. There were the emperor, his son, his daughters: Olga, Maria, Tatiana and Anastasia; there were also the doctor, the waiter, cook, maid, and the boy. I observed distinctly that the heir was dressed in a shirt and had a black leather belt, with a small metal buckle, around his waist. I saw that very distinctly because the Grand Duchess Olga carried him close past me. The heir was ill and the boy pushed his roller-chair. I could not tell you exactly the date when I saw them walking in the garden. But it was not long before their death. The murder took place the night between Tuesday and Wednesday. I do not remember the date. I remember that we received our wages on Monday. So it must have been the 15th of the month of July, reckoning by the New Style. The day after we received the wages, at ten o’clock in the morning of July 16th, I was standing on duty by the sentry-box near to the Vosnesensky Prospect and Vosnesensky Lane. Egor Stoloff, with whom I lived in the same room, was at the same time on duty in the lower rooms of the house. After we finished our shift of duty, together with Stoloff we went to get some drinks in the house number eighty-five of the Vodotchnaia street.

We returned at dusk, as we had to resume our duties at five o’clock. Medvedeff noticed that we were drunk and put us under arrest in the bathhouse, which was situated in the yard of Popoff’s house. We fell asleep and slept till three a. m. At three o’clock in the night we were awakened by Medvedeff who said: “Get up and follow me.” We asked him where and he answered: “They call you, so you must go.” I am quite sure that it was three o’clock because Stoloff had a watch with him, and when I looked at this watch it was exactly three o’clock. We got up and followed Medvedeff. He brought us to the lower room of the Ipatieff house. All the workmen guards were there, except those on duty. There was a cloud of powder smoke in the room and it smelt of powder. In the rear room that had a barred window, which is situated close to the store-room, the walls and floor were pierced by bullets. In one wall there were an especially large number of bullet holes, but there were also bullet marks in the others. There were no marks of bayonet strokes on the walls. In the places where the walls and floor showed bullet holes, there was blood around them; there were splashes and spots of blood on the wall and small pools on the floor. There were drops and spots of blood in other rooms that had to be passed on the way from the room that had the bullet marks, to the court yard. There were also traces of blood on the pavement of the court yard on the way to the gate. It was obvious that quite recently before our arrival a large number of people had been shot in the room with the barred window. After I witnessed all that I began to question Medvedeff and Strekotin about what happened. They told me that just a few moments before, the whole imperial family and the people attached to them had been shot, except the boy.

Medvedeff ordered us to clean up the rooms. We began to wash the floor; several mops were brought in to remove the traces of the bloodstains. I can not tell who brought them. Medvedeff ordered that some sawdust be brought. We washed the floor with cold water and sawdust, removing the bloodstains. The bloodstains on the wall we washed off with a wet rag. All the workmen participated in the cleaning except those that were on duty. A number of men did the cleaning in the room where the imperial family was killed. Amongst others I saw there Medvedeff and two Letts. I also helped to clean this room. In the same manner, using water, we washed the blood from the pavement of the court yard. I did not find any bullets. If any bullets were found by other people or not I don’t know.

When Stoloff and myself came down to the lower room we did not find anybody there except a few Letts. Medvedeff and our workmen were absent. Nikoulin at that time, as it was said by Medvedeff, was in the upper room, the door of which leading to the lower rooms was locked from inside.

I saw no gold or any other valuable articles taken from the bodies of the murdered people in the lower rooms. I now remember that on Tuesday morning, when I was on sentry duty, I personally saw Iourovsky come to the house at eight o’clock in the morning. Some time after his arrival Beloborodoff entered the house. I left my post at ten o’clock in the morning; but Medvedeff told me that afterwards Iourovsky and Beloborodoff went for a ride in an automobile. At this time Nikoulin remained in the house. They returned before evening. During the evening Iourovsky told Medvedeff that in the night time the imperial family would be shot, and ordered him to notify the workmen and to take the revolvers from the sentries.

All this was not clear to me then. I can not tell if it was true or not, as I did not think of questioning any of the workmen whether Medvedeff took their revolvers or not. Personally I don’t understand why it was necessary; according to Medvedeff’s words the imperial family were shot by the Letts and they all had Nagan revolvers. At this time I did not know that Iourovsky was a Jew. Being the instigator of the crime he may have selected the Letts to do the actual killing, having more confidence in them than in us Russians. Perhaps for the same reason he also wanted to disarm the Russian workmen that were on duty. Medvedeff faithfully performed Iourovsky’s order, took the revolvers from the sentries, forwarded them to Iourovsky and at eleven o’clock in the evening notified the workmen that the imperial family were going to be shot. At twelve o’clock midnight Iourovsky awoke the imperial family, requesting all of them to dress and to go down to the lower room. According to Medvedeff, Iourovsky explained to the imperial family that there would be danger during the night and that in case firing were to take place on the streets it would be dangerous to remain in the upper floors. So he insisted that everybody should come down. They complied with the demand and descended to the lower room, accompanied by Iourovsky, Nikoulin and Beloborodoff. There were the emperor, the empress, the heir, the four daughters, the doctor, the waiter, the maid, and the cook. The boy by order of Iourovsky about a day and a half before that, was transferred to the rooms where we were quartered, and I saw him there personally before the murder. All of them were brought into the room that bore the marks of bullets. They stood in two rows. Iourovsky started to read to them a paper. The emperor did not hear well, and asked: “What?” According to the words of Medvedeff, Iourovsky lifted his hand with the revolver and showing it to the emperor, answered: “This is what,” and afterwards added: “Your race must cease to live.”

I remember also that when telling about the paper which Iourovsky read to the emperor, Medvedeff called it a “protocol.”

As soon as Iourovsky finished speaking he, Beloborodoff, Nikoulin, Medvedeff and all the Letts fired at the emperor and directly afterwards began to shoot at everybody else. They all fell dead on the floor. Medvedeff told me himself that he shot two or three times at the emperor and other persons whom they were executing.

After all of them were shot, Alexander Strekotin, as he told it to me himself, took all the precious things from the bodies; these were at once taken away from him by Iourovsky and carried upstairs. After that all the bodies were loaded on a motor truck and taken out somewhere. On this truck, along with the bodies of the killed, went Iourovsky, Beloborodoff and a number of Letts. No one from our workmen went with them.

After the cleaning of the rooms was over, together with Stoloff, we went to town, and sauntered about until evening. We did not meet any of our acquaintances and did not tell anybody about the murder. In the evening we came back to our quarters, had some food, and slept. At six o’clock in the morning on Thursday, July 18th, Medvedeff ordered me on duty on a post inside of the house by the commandant’s room. Up to this time, after the arrival of the Letts, not a single workman ever was allowed to do sentry duty inside of the house while the imperial family was still alive. Now, after they were killed, we were again ordered on duty inside the house.

There was no sentry near the lavatory. Iourovsky, Nikoulin, Medvedeff and the Letts were already in the house when I took up my post. There was nobody from our or Zlokasoff’s workmen. I remember very well that when I came to my post Iourovsky was already in the house. Probably he spent the night in the house. They were all ransacking the emperor’s belongings; they were in a great hurry and were packing all the things that could be packed. I could not hear the conversation between Iourovsky, Nikoulin and Medvedeff. They were all calm but I had the impression that Iourovsky and Nikoulin were a little drunk.

During this day nothing was taken out--only packing was going on.

After I left my post I went to the guardroom, slept, ate, and went to see my brother Alexander who served in the militia. I did not tell anything about the murder to my brother. Until the evening I sauntered around the town and in the evening I returned to the guardroom. In the guardroom Medvedeff announced that we all had to leave Yekaterinburg.

On July 19th we were sent to the station Yekaterinburg First. Our party was assigned to guard the staff of the third Red army. The staff was in railway cars and we were posted by them. At this time I saw the emperor’s belongings, loaded on trucks, being shipped to the station. There were the same things that had been previously packed in handbags and trunks. They were all brought to the station and loaded in a train of cars. The cars were big, of the American type.

I personally saw Iourovsky depart. As I remember, he left during the night of July 21st and proceeded towards Perm. His family and Nikoulin accompanied him. I also personally saw all the Letts who lived in the Ipatieff house and killed the imperial family, departed with Iourovsky. We all left Yekaterinburg when the staff of the third army departed, at the time when the town was already being occupied by the Siberian forces. We went to Perm, but when the troops of General Pepelaieff were taking Perm the staff of the third army and all the workmen of our party left Perm and proceeded towards Viatka. I remained in Perm and after Perm was taken, returned to Yekaterinburg and stopped with my brother Alexander. The secret service learned of my presence and I was ordered to come to the police station. An elderly official started to question me. I got very much afraid and began to lie to him, saying that I had never been amongst the guards of the imperial family. Afterwards, I confessed that I was amongst the guards, but I denied knowledge of anything. Now I have told you everything I know about this matter.

I fully realise how wrong I was not to follow the advice of my father and mother and to have enlisted in the guards. Now I realise what a wicked action it was to kill the imperial family and I understand that I was also wrong in washing out the bloodstains resulting from the crime. I am not a Bolshevik and I never was one. All that I did, I did because of my youth and stupidity. If at present I could help in any way to find and get hold of the people who committed the murder, I would spare no effort to do it.

All the workmen that performed duty had Nagan revolvers that were distributed by Medvedeff a few days before the murder. Iourovsky carried a Browning pistol; Medvedeff, a Nagan revolver.